


Heartbeat

by cyb



Category: Game Grumps (YouTube RPF), JackSepticEye (YouTube RPF), Markiplier (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, M/M, Stripper!Arin, Stripper!Danny, Stripper!Ross, Strippers & Strip Clubs, stripper!Barry, stripper!mark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 18:35:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6090256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyb/pseuds/cyb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark, after a life and line of ridicule, found where he fit in.<br/>Jack, jetlagged and confused, found himself in a place he'd never thought he'd be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Laws of Control

**Author's Note:**

> rape tw  
> playlist for all songs referenced in this story:  
> https://soundcloud.com/spinningheadphones/sets/heartbeat
> 
> first work im uploading to Ao3. comments and kudos are appreciated.  
> Note: This is purely a work of fiction. I am not associated with the Game Grumps, Jack or Mark.

Mark was a dancer.

No, he wasn't interested in ballet, and he wasn't a professional in ska. He didn't know how to moonwalk, and he had no clue what hitting a whip was.

Mark, no, not an international hit in the Argentine Tango community, was a stripper.

When he was younger, he lived in a house along the first edge that had a firepole from the first floor to the second floor, and Mark would enjoy climbing up and down it, sliding and spinning. Growing up, he was teased for his interest in poledancers on the internet, and, in his later years, managed to join lessons for dancing and did it as a hobby. His (now ex) boyfriends would laugh as soon as they started dating and he told them why he had a pole in his home, until he gave them the lapdance of a lifetime they had them begging for more, more, more.

And Mark complied, because it was fun.

And Mark got sick. And he didn't know what to do with himself.

After beating his illness with scars to show, Mark had to move to a cheaper apartment (not wanting to move in with his mother after becoming independent) and had to find a new job, a new place to pay for lessons.

Because dancing was one of the only things he enjoyed.

And someone else in class with him by the name of Arin had offered him a job.

Now, Arin and Mark were mutual friends. Mark was too afraid of getting close, because Arin was 'literally the coolest being alive' (as Mark was telling his brother) and Mark was intimidated.

It was a chilly October morning, and Mark was just walking into the room for lessons, before class started. Arin was there, without his lanky pal Dan for once, and he sat next to Mark whilst they waited for the instructor.

"You okay, man?" Arin asked, looking over at Mark. "You were gone for a long-ass time, yo."

"Huh? Oh. Ran into some medical issues," Mark explained, keeping his explanation to a minium. He felt uncomfortable about the quickly scarring spot on his stomach, and added "I'm fine, though," as an afterthought.

"Shit dude, I'm sorry," Arin exclaimed. "Why are you taking the class right now then?"

Mark thought the question through. "It's... kinda the only thing I have going for me right now, actually."

"Do you have a job?"

"Got fired on medical leave or something."

"Shit. Well, uh. Hmm." Mark gave Arin a confused look, forcing Arin to continue. "This is gonna sound weird, but do you wanna be a stripper?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah! Me and my wife, Suzy, and Danny, who's not my wife but has a place up there too, we started a strip club. Y'know, cause there's a lot of girls who do that kinda stuff, and if a girl goes to a club, there's no doubt she'll be harassed. So, we made an opposite thing. Dudes on stage and women in the crowd. It's... It's fucking awesome, actually, like, dude, you have no goddamn idea. Suzy cleaned this place up and shit, it's so nice."

"I'll have to think it over, honestly," Mark replied.

"No biggie, man! Do you want my number and you can text me or something?"

"That'd be pretty cool."

 

All Mark wanted was a nap.

His head was fucking killing him (he knew it was a goddamn stress headache from the placement), he was dehydrated, and he could play a fun game of counting the circles around his eyes. He thought that he could even begin to see grey hair at the ripe age of goddamn 21.

But no, he couldn't sleep because he had to find work, he had lessons, and he could. have. been. an. engineer.

Fuck it, he decided. Considering it was Friday night and he could sleep all goddamn weekend.

But laying in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about Arin's offer. So he fired off a quick text before falling asleep. 'That job offer still open?'

Mark slept for fourteen hours. Arin had sent him three texts. One replying to his question, one asking why he wasn't at their class, and another asking if he was dead.

'Haha, not dead! Slept for a while-' no, that won't do.

'Haha, still alive! My alarm didn't go off, and I think I'll take up your offer for that job. When's the interview?' There! It's fine!

Arin texted back surprisingly fast. '??????? interview????'

'Yeah, isn't there an interview?' Mark responded.

'Yo we just started out we just need ppl ur good you don't have to do an interview'

'Oh. Can I ask about the basics of the job?'

'Do u wanna come over to the club and I can show u everythn?????'

'Sure! When?'

'Tonight???'

'What time?'

'It opens @  9 tnight'

'Where's the address?'

 

And so, through Mark's persistent questions and Arin's unending patience for his questions, Mark reassured himself that this was indeed the correct club, the one reading 'The Incubus' in bright, shining letters on a very suggestive sign, and stepped into the club. 

Immediately, he was greeted with a feeling of... home? Something he hasn't felt since that house along the river, near the forest. There was a last sitting behind the bar, and she smiled and beckoned him over. "Are you Mark?"

Mark, intimidated by the woman's flawless eyeliner, stuttered out the words. "Y-yeah, I'm Mark- I'm uh- I'm here for Arin?"

The woman only smiled and nodded. "He's not here right now, but I volunteered to show you 'round if he wasn't here. We're about ten minutes before opening. So c'mon, welcome to The Incubus, my pride and joy!"

After the brief introduction and kind words, Suzy went into business mode. She showed him around the bar, explaining how she don't want to dance ("I'll leave the boys to do that," she had said with a grin) and instead worked behind the counter. She showed him the different rooms typically for one-on-one sessions, and led him to the main stage, where three poles were set up. "We usually only use one, cause lighting costs way too much right now."

She showed him behind the stage, where Mark met Barry and Ross. Barry helped behind the counter when they were packed and he wasn't on stage, and Ross has bruises lining his wrists and throat. Ross only smirked as Mark met his eyes with a red face. Oh.

Suzy then took him back behind the bar, weaving between booths. A man sat at the bar, meeting Mark's eyes with an intense and endless stare. Suzy introduced him as Brian, the bouncer.

"He looks like he can crush a baby's skull with one hand," Mark whispered fearfully to Suzy, grabbing his own shirt tightly.

"Indeed I can, Mark," Brian said, unsmiling and unblinking with those unrelenting blue eyes. Mark was fearful for his life.

After Brian began setting up for opening, Arin walked in, followed by Dan. "Mark! Glad you could make it!" He exclaimed, briefly pecking Suzy on the cheek.

"I've shown him around and such, so I figured he could hang with me behind the bar to get a feel for a night?" Suzy asked, gaze flicking from Arin to the man in question halfway through her commenting.

"I'm fine with that," Mark replied in a small voice. He was still shaken up.

"Sick! Okay, so we gotta little paperwork and general shit to go over, and then we can let you on your way, cool?" Arin asked. Mark nodded, and Arin made eye contact with Dan.

"Follow me, man." Dan grinned cheerfully at Mark with a form of charm that made Marks nerves calm instantly, the fear that made his stomach bubble and churn dissolving away.

Mark followed the tall man to what Suzy had called their main office, and inside, comfy chairs lined the wall, even a couple beanbags lying on the floor, coolers and snacks in one half of the room. Dan gestured towards the chairs and told Mark to sit wherever. Mark watched as Dan rummaged through a cabinet before pulling out a couple forms of paper and sitting in a beanbag parallel to Mark.

"So, if you wanna join, that's cool! You go, man! You just gotta fill out a couple things, and we can work on your routine! There's some paperwork, and there's some underlying rules. Are you interested at all?"

"Actually, hell yeah I'm interested," Mark replied. Something about Dan made him feel calmer, like he could trust Dan with everything and never get judged or betrayed.

"Rad! Okay, here, take this," Danny said, handing Mark a few papers, "and don't sign them now, take a day or two to think it over. People will judge you differently if you tell them you're a stripper rather than a 'normal' job." Mark nodded when Danny looked him in the eyes, making sure the point was through his head. "And the biggest rule here is you can't go bangin' anyone. If they're cute and you're interested, then fine, but not in the rooms or outside. You gotta go somewhere else. Okay?"

"Costumers? So it's okay to fuck co-workers?" Mark asked with a joking tone in his voice.

Danny giggled and smiled. "It is. If you've got, like, consent and stuff, then you can do whatever you want, baby girl."

Mark was caught off-guard. "O-oh." _Baby girl?_

"Like, seriously, you just gotta make sure it's okay with everyone else. Like, if you wanna have Arin, then you gotta ask Scuze or other way around. Me, you don't really have to ask someone, maybe tell Brian later or something, and for Ross or Barry or Holly, ask them. Y'know. General stuff."

Before Mark could process Dan being on his own and the world of possibilities, he continued. "Two! Consent. I know that sounds like it should be rule one, and I agree, but I can't remember the exact order of the rules. If you're doing a one-on-one with a costumer, it goes as far as you want it to. Other than fauckin'. But if they hit you or something and you're not into that, then tell Brian and he'll take care of it. Or any of us."

Mark nodded, and the serious expression dropped and Dan's eyes lit up again. Dan explained some other things, like tips are your own and the like.

"So? Any of this turn you off from the job?" Dan asked after explaining himself and mentioning consent a couple more times.

"Not at all, actually..." Mark grinned.

"Sweet! Can I have your number then, and we can talk later?"

Mark nodded, and Dan got up from his beanbag to grab a pen before extending his hand to the smaller man. Mark wrote his number on the large hand, then followed Danny out of the room. Danny pointed to Suzy and yelled "Go with her!" over the booming bass.

Nobody was performing yet, Mark realized as he and Dan parted ways. Before he couple make it to the bar, the lights dimmed and a deep voice filled the stage and the music quieted. "Hello, ladies!"

The crowd screamed and Mark scrambled to make his way to Suzy in fear of being overpowered by the crowd. Suzy just nodded in his direction and let him sit on a stool bring the bar. "For our first show of the night, please welcome, from the Australian outback itself, Baby Boy!"

A drum and snare pattern began playing and a dimly lit figure strutted out on stage. When the buildup dropped and some man said "Kid Ink," Ross took the pole in his hand and spun, dropped to his knees, then began doing a pelvic thrust to the beat and throwing his head back. Mark watched as the man pulled himself up from the floor with one hand and used his other to pull his lacy shirt from his chest, unbuttoning slowly. The audience lived for it.

Mark had to admit, it was his first time in a strip club, and he wasn't too sure if he should be watching his, hell, his future co-worker, move and be so invested in it, but goddamn.

"Hey, Mark?" Suzy asked, and Mark had to pull his gaze from Ross to her. "There's a usual who's paying attention to you. Want me to show you how to fix her drink before she comes over to talk to you?"

"Oh- I? Sure?" Mark asked, confused.

Just then, a woman asked for a drink, and requested a "Surprise me." In turn, Suzy began showing Mark how to make that drink, and Mark paid attention as well as he could.

"Hey, I've never seen you around here," a woman said, and Mark turned to face her. She had dark black hair, cheekbones to kill and she looked strong enough to bench press him with one hand.

Mark decided to play back. "Well, I am new here. What can I do ya for?" He asked, making his voice as low as possible. He grinned coyly.

"Makes sense, I'd have remembered a face like that. I'll take a Manhattan, gorgeous," she responded. "Now, why would a pretty face like yours be behind the bar, instead of on the stage?"

"Oh, don't you worry," Mark replied, trying to remember how to make her drink while maintaining his playfulness. "I'll be up there, shakin' it before you know, sweetheart."

"And I look forward to that day. Do you have a name to go with a face, babe?"

Suzy bumped past him, muttering, "Don't tell her your real name."

"Around here I'm known as Josh, and you are?"

"I'm Candy," she responded, putting her money on the counter. "And a tip for the lovely gentleman behind the counter."

"Candy, eh?" Mark responded, taking the money and replacing it with a drink. "A name as sweet as the looks."

"Oh, how you flatter me. How about when your shift ends we get out of here?" She asked noncommittally.

"I'm working all night, sorry," Mark responded.

"I can wait."

"Oh, I wouldn't want you to do that!"

"It's no problem, really."

"He said no," Suzy stepped in. "And he means no. Thank you."

"Shut up, you cake-faced bitch," Candy snarled, her personality instantly shifting. Suzy looked unphased. 

Mark's eyes widened, and, remembering "tell Brian and he'll take care of it," Mark glanced around and looked for the uncanny man.

He made eye contact with Brian and nodded his head at Candy. Brian's eyes narrowed and he began smoothly walking over.

Meanwhile, Candy was turned to Mark. "He didn't say no, now did he?"

"You're making him uncomfortable. Leave," Suzy responded.

"Shut the fuck up! He can speak for himself, right, baby?" Candy snarled at Suzy, then looked back at Mark.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Candy spun as Brian spoke.

"I'm not doing anything fucking wrong!" She responded.

"This way is the exit." She huffed and stormed away, Brian following her closely. 

"I'm so sorry," Mark said, turning to Suzy. The deep voice had the crowd give it up for Baby Boy one more time.

"It's okay! It happens all the time!" Suzy shouted over the audience. "Next is Danny!"

Mark still felt bad, and made a note to apologize better later. He sat back down on his stool as the announcer welcomed to the stage Danny Sexbang and to watch Dan walk out to a happy-sounding song.

"Stay here, see me come undone, just free my soul and turn me on," Dan mouthed at the audience, back against the pole. He continued going along to the lyrics, almost lazily, with a smile and his arms up, wrapped around the pole. He locked eyes with Mark and smirked, continuing the words. "Take me to heaven and back in a second, light up this fire before you come rushing-" he paused as suddenly the song picked up, getting louder and more dubstep-ey. Then his face grew serious and he licked his lips. "You ain't going rough enough," he mouthed at Mark and then dropped to his knees.

Mark, face flushed and legs crossed, watched as Dan danced, all lean, jagged angles but looking good twisting in ungodly ways. The song calmed and turned happy again, and Dan made eye contact with him again. "Baby, you ain't going rough enough," he mouthed. "I'm your kitty girl and your back is like my scratching post, c'mon make me scream like I- like I- like I seen a ghost."

Needless to say, Mark was more than flustered at that point.

Mark watched with wide eyes throughout the rest of Dan's dancing. The second the song ended and Dan pranced offstage, Mark excused himself to go backstage. He walked up the staircase to see Dan leaning against the wall, catching his breath. "Hey, Mark," he said without looking.

"H-hey." Nice one, idiot.

"So? What's you think?" Dan asked, taking in Mark's flushed face but not mentioning it.

"It was, uh, good..."

"Sweet!"

"So what was that for?" Mark asked, finally meeting Dan's eyes.

"What was what for?" Dan replied coyly.

"Mouthing the lyrics at me..." Mark responded.

"Oh, y'know, show business and such. Gotta have someone nice to look at, y'know?"

Mark felt his face go even more red.

"So do you wanna... make out or somethin'?" Dan asked, straight to the point. He heard Mark choke on his spit.

Why not, Mark thought to himself. Hot dude wanted to make out, he was down. And so he went up the stairs.

Dan cupped his face lightly, taking in the look of Mark's face, all his features. And he leaned down and kissed him lightly.

Instantly, Mark's hands grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. The kiss grew in intensity as Mark shoved Dan back against the wall, tongues tangling and hands tightening.

After about two minutes of heatedly making out, Danny lightly pushed Mark back and they both caught their breath. "Holy shit..." Dan mumbled. Mark chuckled.

"Damn right. Who's going up next?" He asked, having gotten his fill of having Danny for that time.

Danny was still brainlagged from the kissing. "Barry, I think."

"Wanna come hang out with Suze and I and watch?" Mark asked. Danny obliged; being with Mark was apparently fucking awesome.

They both walked out of the hallway together, Suzy taking notice of Mark's messy hair and Danny's rumpled shirt, but deciding not to mention it. Arin would get a kick out of hearing that later.

"Hey, is it cool if I chill with you guys to watch Barry?" Dan asked, already taking a seat. Suzy leaned over the counter.

"Everyone's waiting for Arin's show," Suzy commented. Dan nodded.

"Sweet as a strawberry, get ready for everyone's favorite, The Bear!" The crowd roared.

"Was that a pun? With the strawberry?" Mark shouted. Either Dan and Suzy didn't hear or ignored him, but there was no response either way.

The music started, and there was no sign of him. An electric guitar riff started and, oh, there he was, doing a fashion model runway walk. He was taking his time, bobbing his head. The closer he got the pole, the more his body swayed. He was moving enough to where he missed the pole, but grabbed on it and seeing himself to the front of the stage as the words started. He was grinding against the pole, lightly tugging on the hem of his shirt. As the singer said "Oh my, my" he pulled his shirt over his head in a fluid motion and dropped to the floor, giving everyone a wonderful view of him on his hands and knees. He moved up the pole, and oh, he was a climber. He grabbed the pole with his thighs and the chorus hit; he spun and slid, laying with his back to the floor, then pulling himself up the pole, upside-down, then swirled and hit the floor with his legs spread.

Out of everyone, Barry was the most graceful dancer, Mark had to admit. He moved with art, rather than trying to be sexy, and that made him even more attractive to look at.

Barry was Mark's favorite so far. And then there were no drinks being served, there was excited chatter in the crowd as they waited for the last show of the night.

And then Arin came out.

Rather than watching Arin,  Suzy and Danny watched Mark. They had both seen their boy do thousands of moves, and they knew them all. They watched Mark, because not only was his reaction to seeing Arin interesting, but they got to study the half-Korean.

 

And Mark was watching Arin. Arin was fluid, but he was such a dirty, dirty dancer. He was grinding on the pole, shaking his ass, removing clothes with no regret, and moving with such passion that Mark was drawn in. Not only was he pretty, he was good, and he was so passionate.

Mark watched him interact with the crowd, weaving his way in and out of arms and bodies, them moving back up to the stage and climbing the pole, but not too high. He moved with skill and determination, and Mark had never seen something so... lovely. 

"That was fuckin' cool as shit! Did you see that?" Mark examined, turning to the others.

They nodded. "He's always so good," Suzy gushed.

"Hey, today's only one round tonight, right?" Dan asked, and Suzy nodded.

"One round?" Mark asked.

"One round of them going up there? If it was two rounds, then they would all go up twice, if it was only Arin and Danny up twice, we'd day D-A2, and sometimes we put Ross up a bunch of times so he wears himself out," Suzy explained.

"God knows he needs to," Danny mumbled, but with an affectionate glint in his eyes.

"We're closing up soon, if you wanna stick around to see how that works." Brian slid into the seat next to Dan at the bar. "It is already three in the morning."

Mark agreed, surprised how quickly the time had passed. It felt like he had arrived two minutes ago.

 

Suzy was picking up all the shot glasses strewn about as Brian started ushering some remaining people out. Some women left after Arin had performed, meaning either that had a schedule or they could sense closing time.

A couple glasses had been shattered to the floor, and in an attempt to help, Mark started picking up the glass shards off the ground. Suzy handed him a broom and pan and thanked him.

Arin and Barry started putting chairs up onto tables, while Ross climbed up poles to the roof and turned off the lights. Mark didn't ask why. Danny started sweeping up trash, money and bottles from the ground.

Soon, after everything had been cleaned up and turned off, everyone stood around the bar and Brian counted the money. He divided it into seven piles, handing the boys and Suzy their fair share of money. Then the uncanny man took a pile for himself and taking the other like into the office. He returned, and everyone headed outside. They all told each other goodbye, high-fiving Mark and welcoming him to the team, then heading out in their own directions. Ross was bouncing on his heels, jumping around and moving animatedly while talking to Barry. Soon, a car pulled up to them and Ross kissed the person driving on the cheek, then both he and Barry got into the car.

Danny pecked Mark on the head, mumbled "Bye, baby" before heading off with Brian. Mark flushed as Arin raised an eyebrow.

"So what do you think?" Arin asked. "Worth joining?"

"Totally," Mark replied enthusiastically, feeling around in his jacket pockets for the papers Danny gave him earlier.

"Sweet! Well, think it through, and hit me up when you're ready!"

Mark grinned, and the couple made sure Mark was safe getting home, then took off towards the direction of their own car. Mark walked home excitedly.

 

Mark was starting to feel on edge. He had pulled out his earbuds a while ago, and, in a panic, texted Arin. 'I think there's someone following me'

'Holy shit are you okay? Need me to call the cops?' Around response was instant.

'Yeah just wanted to tell u in case iidie,' Mark texted back, hands shaking.

'Can you talk on the phone right now?'

'No' Mark texted back. He could talk, he just hated phone calls.

'Keep texting me. Who would be following you?'

'Idk man maybe they're not following me maybe they're just going in the same direction'

'You're coming to my house.'

'What'

'I'll text you my address. Where are you?

'Corner if third and main''

After a yes and an address, Mark began to text back. 'But whadbdnfnfnfnfn'

'Mark?'

Mark dropped his phone as he made a wrong turn and was pulled into an alley. Instantly slammed against a wall, there were teeth on his neck and claws in his shoulder. "I said I'd wait," a voice mumbled.

He recognized it. "Candy, no wa-"

"I waited for you."

He tried to shove her away, but as only greeted with nails in his wrist, being slammed against the wall again and definitely bruising his knuckles. His glasses were ripped off and thrown elsewhere, and he shoved his knee to the general direction of Candy. She pinned his leg with her own and reeled back, slapping him across the face. "Asshole. You should be thankful that you're getting laid, you fucking loser."

She moved forward, moving her unoccupied hand from his side to the spot she had been biting and sucking. She placed her lips over his, and he didn't move. Tears were threatening to fall. She grabbed his hair at the base and roughly pulled. He refused to move his mouth. Instead of giving up, she stabbed her nails into the bright red spot on his neck. He made a noise and she slid her tongue into his mouth. In a blind moment of panic, he bit her tongue and used all the force he had in his body to shove her.

She stumbled and fell, and he sprinted. He heard a crunching noise of what he assumed to be his glasses. He didn't care; he bent down to grab his dropped and now shattered phone, looked at the address Arin had sent, then hit call.

"Mark?" Arin answered before the first ring.

"A-Arin, I'm heading over now," he said, the tears causing his voice to waver. "Fuck I need a hug Arin I fuck I'm so sorry I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no hey it's okay it's okay, we're walking to meet you, we'll find you and take you home, okay?" Arin reassured.

Mark sniffled into the phone, and Arin heard it. "Mark, you're going to be okay, everything going to be okay. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. It's okay. It's okay."

Arin continued repeating his words and Mark sprinted even faster.

The second he saw those two dark haircuts, they both ran towards him and he crumbled, falling to his knees and sobbing. They both dropped to the ground and hugged him, holding him tight, whispering "It's okay, we got you" and things of the like.

"Can we go?" Mark asked with a cracking voice.

"Of course we can go, you're going to be okay, it's okay, you're okay," Suzy soothed.

They both carried the limping man to their home.


	2. Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay note to self you can't use emojis on AO3

It was a long night. 

Arin and Suzy cleaned him up, putting him into a bath and giving him clothes. Arin tended to the bruise on his throat and Suzy wrapped bandages around his torso and wrist where nails hand sunk deep enough to leave him bloody. Mark ignored the stinging; he ignored everything.

Mark didn't sleep, and the couple let him sit between them as they all held a silence. Arin had his arms wrapped around Mark and Suzy was currently making tea. 

It was five in the morning, and nobody slept that night. 

They all spent the rest of the night in stony silence. There was nothing to say that hasn't been said before, and Mark's mind was blank, still trying to process what had happened. He was leaving against Arin lightly, not enough to let his weight rest on him, with a blanket strung between the both of them. 

Suzy came back, handing both the men a cup of black tea and taking a cup herself. She sat on the other side as Mark and met eyes with Arin. Neither of them said anything. None of them said anything. They didn't have to. They didn't need to. 

And that was how the rest of the day was spent. Mark stayed silent and looked confused. Arin called Danny to ask if they had any parties or anything important planned for the club, and on finding they didn't, he called everyone up and told them to take a day off. And the days afterwards. The club was closed for at least a week; "Something came up." He had a tone in his voice that told none of them to ask why, and nobody did.

And so Mark found himself sandwiched between two Hansons in a dreamless sleep. They had just led him into their bed, and cuddled up to him on either side. He was warm and it was comforting.

In the early morning, Mark awoke and slithered out of bed, rummaging through their fridge and cooking some eggs. He left them on a plate, pouring glasses of water for the couple. He found a pen and a sticky note. 'Hey! I'm heading back home, I'll get you your clothes back and stuff, don't worry. Text me if you need anything!' He didn't want to trouble them with improper grammar or the fact that he wanted to die; after all, he had troubled them enough. It was selfish to go to them for help. He barely knew them, and they provided hospitality.

Mark passed strangers on his way home, sending beaming smiles. A couple people smiled back, and Mark felt nothing. 

Mark got home, and took a shower with scalding hot water. It burned his skin but he couldn't feel it, then he changed and fell into bed. He rolled into his chest, and stared at the ceiling. His phone went off plenty of times, but he didn't check it. He was too tired. He fell asleep, not bothering with the blankets or changing into clothes. 

 

He checked his phone when he woke up. He missed a lot of texts. They were in the hundreds. 

'Mark?'

'Mark?'

'Mark'

'Text me back please'

'Mark I will fight you'

'Markithan'

'why doesn't Mark have a full name like Jonathan to Jon and Richard to Rick'

'Markithanual'

'Markiplite'

'MARK!! I don't know what happened but you're scaring Arin so text him or me -Dan'

'It's Ross Arin gave me your number text him back'

And the missed calls. Oh, how they stacked up, and Mark didn't think he'd ever have enough time in his life to listen to all the voicemails. He didn't know anyone had that much time in their lives to leave that many voicemails.

'Sorry for scaring you!' Mark began. 'I just fell asleep.'

'Jesus Christ dude do you realize how long you were out?' Arin texted back instantly. Mark didn't know how. 

'No..? Sorry.'

'It's been like two days.'

'I'm sorry.'

'why are you apologizing?'

'Dunno. Sorry.'

'do you need anything? Suzy and I can drop it by. are you feeling okay? how's your chest? is the bruise okay?'

'Just woke up. Haven't checked yet.'

And then Mark was angry. 

He was so angry that it came up in the form of vomit, and he sprinted to the bathroom. He threw up about three times, throat burning and eyes watering. He sat next to his bathtub, sobbing with rage. 

How dare she? She had no fucking right. She had no right at all to do that. Did she not understand what being a normal human being was? She had no right. He shouldn't have scared Arin and Suzy- fuck, he barely knew them! And now there was some bigass bruise on his neck and probably blood! Fucking bullshit!

His thoughts continued in the manner for a while. And then he felt regret. 

She did have a right. He never specifically told her no. 

And then he was retching again, sick and sore and tired. He wobbled into his room again, texting Arin with blurred eyes. 'I'm texting you my address please bring Suzy and medicine I feel sick and don't know if I have any'

Arin texted back. 'on it.'

Mark sat on his bed, looking around his room and deciding he should put on clothes. However, he couldn't pretend he wanted to exist today. He could try, though.

Grabbing some oversized hoodie and pyjama pants, he decided it was good enough. He pulled on a pair or old glasses. Finally, he looked into the mirror and saw a bruise spiralling halfway up his throat with black and blue vigour. What an absolute terror. 

He nearly fell, hitting the wall with his back and sliding down. He felt sick again, and he wondered if he wouldn't stop feeling like he was going to throw up at all. Perhaps not; it might be for the best. He could remember that he shouldn't flirt with strangers because they'll fuck him over. Oh God, oh Lord, it was his fault. 

There was knocking at his door, then a call of "Mark?"

"Bathroom," he croaked. He heard footsteps coming up his stairs, and opened the door of the bathroom slightly. First long fingernails opened the door, then revealed Suzy and Arin. Both their eyes softened immediately, and Suzy said "oh honey" while Arin hummed something. 

They both offered a hand at the same time, and Mark met himself get picked up by the blonde-streaked duo. "Where's your room?" Arin asked softly. 

Mark shook off their arms and headed towards his room, and stood stiffly whilst Arin and Suzy looked around. They both pulled him over to the bed, and they all sat on the edge. 

"It was my fault," Mark said softly, baritone voice seeming to take up more space in the quiet room that it usually would. 

"No it wasn't," Suzy replied instantly. "Don't blame yourself. She was insane, and I shoulda figured it out earlier."

"This isn't either of your faults," Arin responded. They both glanced over and meet his steely eyes. "It was her fault, and that's final. Don't blame yourselves."

And with that, Mark started crying again. 

Arin pulled him close, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, as Suzy snuggled herself into his waist. Mark sobbed into Arin and Suzy traced lines into his back in a soothing way. They both mumbled caring things, saying they loved him and they cared for him, saying they were here for him. Eventually, Mark calmed enough for hiccups that seemed to rake his whole body. 

"God, I don't even know why I'm crying," Mark managed with a watery voice. He let out a sad chuckle.

"Hey, it's okay to cry, man," Arin reassured. "We're both here for you, okay?"

"I feel like such a burden," Mark admitted softly. Suzy pulled away and looked away with wide eyes.

"Burden? How?" She asked. Mark gave her a sad look.

"I met you, what, four days ago? And Arin, you and I had never really talked. And now I'm here, crying about my problems because-because-" Mark cut himself off in order to refrain from crying again. "Because I don't know how to handle myself."

"Do you think we do?" Arin asked, and Mark would have thought it sounded condescending, but the smile he received pointed him in the opposite direction. "Fuck, man, I wanna play video games for a living and make cartoons all day," he laughed. 

"I want to go back into modeling because nobody buys bugs," Suzy added. "Y'know, cause taxidermy is a huge fucking seller. We have no idea what we're doing, Mark."

Mark felt better, but couldn't help the underlying feeling of upset. "You're not a burden, Mark," Arin said as the smile dropped off his face. "We love you."

"And we'll protect you from whatever bad happens," Suzy insisted. "Please don't think you're hurting us."

"But I am!" Mark snapped. His voice went dangerously low, and calm. It was actually terrifying. "God, I am so fucked up, already I was, and I don't want to hurt you because I'll get close to you and fucking run, because it's all I do!"

Suzy shushed him. "I don't care if you run. I don't care if you're fucked. You are just as important, Mark."

"I'd follow you, anyways," Arin added. "Cause I'd miss you." He beamed Mark a lopsided grin.

Mark huffed. "You wouldn't get it! I'd hurt you! I'm a monster; oh god, I'm a monster, I'm a monster I'm a-"

Suzy grabbed him and hugged him close. He was seething but didn't move, and Arin followed his wife soon after, until, yet again, Mark was between the couple. He sighed in defeat. Then Suzy left the room for a moment, coming back with a pill in one hand and a glass of water in one hand. Mark graciously took both, and Suzy pulled the glass from his hand as she left again.

"Do y'wanna get breakfast?" Arin asked, softly in case of upsetting him.

"Sure." Mark responded after so long that Arin was confused as to what he was talking about. Suzy, who had returned to the other side of Mark, mouthed 'Breakfast.'

Suzy looked up at the two. "Where?"

"Village Inn? Denny's?" Mark suggested. 

"Village Inn," Arin replied. "I'll tell you a story about Denny's, man."

And so, as they all walked out of Mark's house and into the car, Arin began his story. 

Through the car ride, Arin explained how a "friend of a friend" was at Denny's, at about one in the morning with all his friends. The friend found a dead rat on the floor, and took it up in his cup, turning it upside-down and waiting for the manager to pass by sometime. 

Walking into the restaurant, Arin talked about how the manager screamed and flipped shit when the friend uncovered the rat very calmly. Everyone at the table ended up getting a free breakfast, and it was considered a great feat.

"And there were these two Irish dudes visiting, and they both looked fuckin' horrified, man. Like, apparently they didn't want to go to any other Denny's ever again 'cause 'What if they're all like that?' I mean, they kinda are, but that's beside the point, man. Oh, hey, time to order!"

Suzy just rolled her eyes and Mark looked horrified. "C'mon, man, I was about to eat."

Arin grinned up at the waitress and tried to ignore how she looked at Mark's throat. "I'll take the Swedish pancakes, please."

As the other two ordered, Arin sipped on his drink and watched them. Both of them were so pretty, he realized. To please the aesthetics. 

Arin and Suzy talked as Mark listened on, catching on little snippets of conversation here and there. He was thinking, reminding himself to pay the check later because he needed to do something for them, and a thought popped into his head. 'Bash your head into the window. The glass shards will kill you.'

Mark wasn't a stranger to intruding thoughts. After living over a decade or two with ADHD, Mark had his fair share of unreasonable ideas popping into his head. It had been so long since he thought like that, though, that it had scared him. 

Instantly, he backtracked to think of all the progress he had made. Escaping abusive relationships, dealing with two deaths of important people to him, finding a job and friends and somewhere decent to live. He didn't think he needed love, and that was okay. He didn't require love, he didn't need a relationship. And he figured that out about himself. It was progress. 

And then the waitress came by and gave them their food, Suzy and Arin plowing in and all previous conversations put under a raincheck. Mark was fucking starving and decided to enjoy himself too. His head could shut up for a while whilst he ate, could it not?

And so they ate. And Mark paid while Arin shouted "We're locals!" in order to get a deal. Mark was thankful but didn't say anything. 

Arin and Suzy insisted on taking him around town, being careful to avoid the path home. They didn't want to hurt Mark, and again he was thankful. He only had one more thought, that being "Unbuckle your seat. Roll out. It'll leave kickass scars, or you'll die."

Mark told it to fuck off.

They all conversed in the car, the trio eventually going to makeup talk. "Yeah, I'd be fine with wearing makeup," Mark had said. "Enhances my manly jawline."

"I hate wearing makeup," Arin responded. "I hate goopy shit on my face, man."

Suzy grinned, keeping her eyes on the road. "You look so good in makeup, babe. And we gotta do one of those nights at the club."

"Those nights?" Mark repeated curiously.

"Holly and I do their makeup for stage. Danny insists on being Ziggy Stardust, though," Suzy responded.

"Danny insists on being a nasty old dude, what're you talking about?" Arin joked. "Y'know, his whole Attitude City getup, but stripper-ified?"

Suzy groaned and Arin laughed. Looking at Mark, he explained, "Brian and Danny have always had jokes about making a band, and I've drawn some shit for them for a music video called Attitude City."

Mark nodded and Arin continued. "It's absolutely ridiculous, man. They look ridiculous. It's fucking awesome."

Suzy began to park the car. "You're just in love with the both of them," she retaliated with no bite.

"And you're not?" Arin asked, turning. "Everyone is in love with at least Danny. Mark, back me up on this."

"Woah! I'm not in love with him!" Mark said quickly. 

"Yeah, and I'm not the one who made out with him with my first day of the job," Arin laughed.

"Yes you did! You guys made out the second that we got a customer!" Suzy noted. "Also, we're here. Mark, there's this really cool tree I wanna show you."

"You made out with him too!" Arin said as they all exited the car. 

"Everyone makes out with Danny at least once," Suzy defended. Mark was watching the couple bicker as they began a walk from the park they were at into a green forest on the edge of the park.

"And maybe Brian," Arin said. "Hey, Mark, you've met Brian, right? Trail's this way, c'mon."

Mark nodded, settling into a walk between the couple as they lead him on a trail. "He's... fucking scary, honestly. Also, if you don't mind me asking, are you guys like... dating Dan?"

Suzy and Arin glanced at each other. "Kinda? Everyone who works at the club is sorta dating," Suzy said slowly. "It's just a thing. Arin and I are married to each other, Brian's married and Ross is married, but we're all... together? It doesn't really make sense."

"You'll get used to it, if you stay," Arin added. "Have you thought about it at a- that's a stupid question. Never mind."

"I still wanna work for you. I'll just have to take a different route home," he joked. 

Instantly, his mind yelled at him. You made them uncomfortable!

"We can drive you or something," Arin said, grinning down at him. "It's gonna be okay."

"I know," he answered. He didn't know. He felt Suzy tap his shoulder, and he glanced over at her. She simply held out her hand Mark put his hand on top of her's, hesitantly. She grinned and intertwined their fingers. 

"I'm third wheeling with my wife," Arin mumbled under his voice. Mark grabbed his hand too, and Arin rolled his eyes. 

The conversation came to a halt as they all looked around the forest, hand in hand. Mark hadn't realized how long they had been walking until the trail split into two parts, both Arin and Suzy taking the left. Mark walked with them and soon enough they reached a clearing. 

Clearing was the wrong term for it. A space opened up with curved branches all reaching inward, creating an open space with a few trees in the center. Mark instantly felt his nerves calm, as if he was at his mother's home. 

"This is one of my favorite places ever," Suzy said softly. Mark gazed around and understood. Arin let go if his hand and walked towards a low-down branch, then sitting on it. 

"We should build a fort!" Mark bumbled excitedly. "Like, you see how those branches are sorta curved? Look! If we put enough branches there we can build a fort!"

Arin glanced over. "I'm down."

"I'm gonna head back to the car and change," Suzy replied, then turned and began back down the trail. "You guys get started!"

Mark leaned from foot to foot. "Cool! Okay, here, should we start finding branches?"

"I got this side covered," Arin replied, getting off good branch and starting towards one side of the clearing. "The branch pile is gonna be in the center, okay? Right there."

"On it!"

Mark may have liked the forest too much, but the fact that Arin and Suzy didn't criticize him for it only made things better.  And the fact that they were helping him didn't sour the idea either.

They didn't speak much as they worked, greeting Suzy as she came back (bringing a ton of blankets) and saying simple commands or questions. Together the trio worked to build a form of nest into the side of the clearing, then all began to lay in comfortable silence, basking in the warmth of their cuddle pile and the serenity of the area. 

Suzy watched as both her boys fell asleep atop one another, both faces peaceful and relaxed. 

They do deserve to relax, Suzy thought. Mark needed as much time as needed to recover, and Arin had been so busy working recently that he wore himself out.

While they napped, Suzy kept a watchful eye out and responded to emails on her limited wifi. She brought her portable charger with her, so she didn't have to worry about her phone dying anytime soon. She made final notes with a carpenter named Jack, a reporter who wanted to interview her named Vernon, and some college student who was doing a report on sexism or something and wanted to talk to her named Kevin. She managed to clear out most of the photos on her phone that were taking up space (most of which were selfies and bad memes from and for Ross) and watched the sun grow tired in the sky before waking the two up gently. 

Arin looked at her with blurry vision as Mark gripped one of their shirts, he wasn't sure who's, tighter and mumbled something. Together, they all shuffled to the car and Suzy drove them home. Mark fell asleep in the back by the time they got to his house, and Arin carried him in before laying him on the couch. 

 

The next day, Mark woke up on his couch and glanced around his small apartment in confusion. He texted Arin a quick "Hey, why am I on my couch?" and got up to make some coffee. 

He went to check his phone, then realized he had misplaced it. Then he decided to not worry about it, because he lost shit all the time and panicking about it would only cost him heartbreak. Even if it was a material possession and he was almost entirely a nihilist.

He drank his coffee and looked out the windows of his apartment. He showered, he cleaned his room, and about an hour later he was beginning to panic. That was okay! He should be able to go without his phone!

He started cleaning the front room of his house, mind racing. What if his phone broke? How the fuck did he get into his house yesterday? What if Arin hated him? What if he and Suzy got into a car crash when heading home? What if they got stabbed? 

He hasn't realized he was gripping a blanket on his couch, and forced himself to fold it before sprinting to Arin and Suzy's, but instead he sent his phone flying with the force he pulled the blanket from the couch. It hit the coffee table, and he was seriously glad neither the table broke nor did his phone shatter even more. 

There was a text from Arin. 'we napped at the fort place, we feel asleep, we took u home and idk if u remember it cause u were really tired'

'Remember what?'

'no remember that we took u home'

'Oh. Thank you'

'ye- hey, also, u wanna have dinner 2nit? me, suz, Danny, rod, Barry, Brian'

'... What?'

'meant Ross lol'

'Oh. Sure? What time? '

'Dan said 6or7'

'Six or seven?'

'sure'

'WHICH ONE'

'6??????'

'Thank you.'

':[[[[['

Mark felt like there were bugs on his skin. He showered twice again and shaved. His hair felt absolutely wonderful and he looked at the bruise on his throat, then texted Suzy. 'Hey, it's Mark, what kinda makeup is good?'

'If you need me to cover up the bruise, I can come over.'

'Please do. We'r'  
'Holy Fuck I Forgot To Ask Arin Where We're Going'

'Chilli's.'

'ThaNK Y OU'

'Go get ready. I'll be over at five, k?'

'THANK YOU'

Suzy responded with kissy-face emojs, and Mark decided to go over the papers in the meantime. The papers that would allow him to join The Incubus. The papers that would get him a job. 

And then he was hit with so much anxiety he couldn't think straight. What if they hated him and he failed his job? He should've never dropped out. He could've been an engineer. What if they were taking him out to tell him they all hated him? What if Arin and Suzy thought he was faking it? 

No, it's okay, he reminded himself. It would be okay. He was okay. He could get a new job if he got fired. It would be okay. 

With shaking legs, he took himself to his room and found the folded up paper lying in his dirty clothes. The paper smelled like paper still, and he shakily began reading. 

 

A few hours of Mark cleaning his house out of a panic and signing forms, the bell rang and he nearly sprinted to see Suzy. "Hey!"

"Hey, man," she replied, and Mark stepped aside to let her in. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good, you?" He replied. "You look great, by the way."

She smiled. "Oh, you boys keep me young. C'mon, let's go cover that up."

In his defense, he hated people touching his neck. And when it took half an hour to cover something, he took all the blame. 

 

The dinner was fun. 

Mark and Suzy met everyone at the restaurant, where Mark was sitting between Arin and Barry. Barry was complaining to him about capybaras and how they attracted other animals to them because "they radiate positivity" as they all ordered. Mark felt sick to his stomach and just ordered fries. He was relieved when nobody called him out on it. 

By the end of the night, Mark felt like less of an outsider due to being pelted with straw wrappers and vaguely personal questions.

At the end of the night, he gave Arin his registration forms, then drove home. Before his mind could get the best of him, he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

Arin texted him while he was sleeping.

'welcome to the team, Markipoo ;)'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> character development!  
> also I said this would be done in a week.  
> three weeks ago.  
> I'm so sorry.  
> and hey, tell me what you think!  
> there was gonna be more notes, but i forgot them. so. thanks yo  
> PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR CHAPTER 3. IT'S A FUCKIN WHIRLWIND.


	3. sorry

hey

so

I've sorta lost motivation for this fic, which is funny because Jack isn't even in it yet

and I have a couple drafts for the next chapter, but I realized how under planned this was, even for my (embarrasingly low) standards, and?

I've realized I'm also not too good at making the grumps sound real (which is why I've kept the Ross and Barry to a minimum) and I think I need to focus on that right now, I may post a couple drafts or characteristic tryouts, but

also, it's the end of the school year and I have so many concert band things and theatre things and I'm going to a new school next year and need to get my classes settled, not to mention there's so. many. tests. and. field. trips. and. my. social. life. is. in. shambles.

sorry, got a bit personal

I may continue this, I am planning to pick it up, but it... might not be for a while

sorry, and if you want to contact me about it or anything, my instagram is 1stfear and my tumblr is tylurrjoseph

again, I'm really sorry

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry.
> 
> by the way, this fic was inspires by basically the entire album ¡Uno! by Green Day, as well as On The Rocks by Ken Ashcorp.
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated!!!!
> 
> also, my tumblr/instagram is 1stfear if you wanna talk about the story or something!!!  
> okay bye see you next chapter


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